A lightning strike caused the fire that destroyed Olympic eventer Phyllis Dawson’s Purcellville, Va., barn yesterday, June 10. Although several horses were in the 16-stall stable at the time of the strike, all were evacuated safely.

The barn, which was Dawson’s personal stable, had 18 horses inside, including two mares and foals, Dawson’s competition horses and her stallion, Brandenburg’s Windstar, as well as Melissa Hunsberger’s advanced mount, Expedience.

“We were able to get all the horses out, but only just,” Dawson said. “The working students and other girls who work for me, at a pretty significant risk to themselves, helped me get everyone out.”

The strike occurred during a mid-afternoon storm, and the barn, which was also used for hay storage, was engulfed almost immediately.

“It’s kind of like you dream about – your worst nightmare,” Dawson said. “The whole top half of the barn was in flames, and some of the horses didn’t want to leave. You always hear about horses panicking and not wanting to come out of their stalls, and it’s true. If it had happened in the night when nobody was there, [they] would have been gone.”

Dawson, who represented the United States at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul and the 1997 European Championships (England), has been based at Windchase Farm for the past 22 years. Her larger barn, which houses boarded horses, was not damaged during the fire. Although insurance will cover a portion of the loss, it won’t cover the total cost of rebuilding the barn and replacing the feed and equipment lost in the fire.

“We’ve had huge support from friends and neighbors,” Dawson said. “We’ve farmed out the horses and had tons of people offering to help and take horses. It’s really been an experience in how tight the horse world is and how willing everyone is to help out.”